Colura Explained
Colura is a genus of epiphytic type of liverworts and consists of approximately 80-90 species, that are distributed generally in the tropics.
Species in this genus are no larger than a couple millimetres in size and may possess small water sac organs formed from fused leaf margins that trap small ciliates. It is because of this trapping mechanism that some species have been suspected of carnivory, even as early as 1893. One such species, Colura zoophaga, was the subject of a study that aimed to investigate the assumed carnivorous habit among liverworts. The results confirmed that ciliates were captured and died within the water sac traps, which are not unlike the bladder traps of Utricularia. Whether the species attract, digest, or absorb the prey has not been confirmed, however. The epiphytic habit of the genus, requiring all nutrients to be acquired from rainwater, is similar to the habit of known carnivorous plants.[1] [2]
Species
98 species are accepted by GBIF (as of June 2023);[3]
- Colura acroloba
- Colura amboinensis
- Colura andoi
- Colura apiculata
- Colura ari
- Colura australiensis
- Colura benoistii
- Colura berghenii
- Colura bicornis
- Colura bisvoluta
- Colura brevistyla
- Colura bulbosa
- Colura calderae
- Colura calyptrifolia
- Colura clavigera
- Colura clementis
- Colura conica
- Colura corniantha
- Colura corynephora
- Colura corynophora
- Colura crenulata
- Colura crispiloba
- Colura cristata
- Colura cylindrica
- Colura cymbalifera
- Colura denticulata
- Colura digitalis
- Colura dusenii
- Colura fastigiata
- Colura fistulosa
- Colura galeata
- Colura greig-smithii
- Colura hattoriana
- Colura hedbergiana
- Colura heimii
- Colura hemisphaerica
- Colura herzogii
- Colura hirta
- Colura humbertii
- Colura imperfecta
- Colura inflata
- Colura inornata
- Colura inuii
- Colura involvens
- Colura irrorata
- Colura itatyana
- Colura javanica
- Colura jovet-astiae
- Colura junghuhniana
- Colura karstenii
- Colura kilimanjarica
- Colura koponenii
- Colura leratii
- Colura lingua
- Colura mauritiana
- Colura maxima
- Colura medusa
- Colura meijeri
- Colura mizutanii
- Colura mosenii
- Colura naumannii
- Colura norrisii
- Colura obesa
- Colura obvoluta
- Colura ornata
- Colura ornithocephala
- Colura palawanensis
- Colura pallida
- Colura patagonica
- Colura pluridentata
- Colura pseudocalyptrifolia
- Colura pulcherrima
- Colura queenslandica
- Colura rhynchophora
- Colura saccophylla
- Colura saroltae
- Colura schusteri
- Colura siamensis
- Colura simplicior
- Colura speciosa
- Colura streimannii
- Colura strophiolata
- Colura superba
- Colura tenuicornis
- Colura thomeensis
- Colura tixieri
- Colura tortifolia
- Colura tutuilana
- Colura ulei
- Colura undulata
- Colura usambarica
- Colura valida
- Colura verdoornii
- Colura vietnamensis
- Colura vitiensis
- Colura zoophaga
Notes and References
- Barthlott, W., Porembski, S., Seine, R., and Theisen, I. (2007). The Curious World of Carnivorous Plants: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Biology and Cultivation. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 180-181.
- Barthlott, W., Fischer, E., Frahm, J.-P., and Seine, R. (2000). First experimental evidence for zoophagy in the hepatic Colura. Plant Biology (Stuttgart), 2: 93-97.
- Web site: Colura (Dumort.) Dumort. . www.gbif.org . 30 June 2023 . en.
